Darkness Is Welcoming
by Aurore Joy
Summary: Fifteen year old runaway Cadenza has met the person she's heard some late night whispers about... The Thief Lord. How will he react to her sarcastic manner, and attempts to prove she can be better than someone that hides behind a title?
1. Chapter 1

_**Aurore; I don't own any of this, 'cept Cadenza. Believe me, if I did, I wouldn't have to say that I'mmadork that really needs to get out more. But that's beside the point! Onwards! To the Introductory chapter…**_

Cadenza. That had been her once upon a time name. Her name she had held before she had ran away. Now she was simply that girl. Yes, the one with a once beautiful face, that suffered and became dark with the gloom of a homeless child. If she went back far enough, she could remember a yellow room, sundresses and sweaters, singing and joy. But that was all gone now.

She let a sigh drop from her pink lips softly, as she scolded herself for thinking back, she needed to focus on _now_, not then, She shook her head, her black hair moving along to the movement of her hair, as the girl slunk through the shadows.

This was her element. The shadows. Do you know how good friends often embrace each other lovingly? As the shadows engulfed her, caressing her thin arms kindly, she almost remembered such an embrace. Her clothing was dark, a navy coloured skirt that reached her ankles, it was patched clumsily were the seams had ripped, and a black sweatshirt, that clung to the girls to thin frame. She wore no shoes. She fit right in with the darkness of the allies.

She fingered her blacker choker necklace as she slipped soundlessly around, looking for a decent nights lodging. And that's when she saw a boy about her age, with a mask on his face, heading toward an abandoned theatre.


	2. The Meeting

_**Aurore; It's just me again. Not my characters, I didn't imagine, Scip and Bo and Prosper and Hornet and Riccio and Mosco and any other character I may or may not mention in this, 'cept for Cadenza, 'cause she's mine. You no steal Cadenza. Got it? It took forever to find a nice Italian name for her… I honestly didn't want to call her Trista, 'cause that would be wayyy to ironic. Enough babble.**_

_Chapter 1; _

Scipio heard something, _someone,_ moving. He turned his head in the direction, his eyes landed on her, barely, though, because, the moon did indeed light up the area, not enough for him to see all of her frail form, the paleness of her bare legs did indeed stick out like s beacon.

Cadenza's breath caught in her throat, as she tried to look invisible. She was painfully aware of eyes on her. A few seconds later, she tired of the game of 'hide and don't look here' with the boy. She stepped out of the shadow, resting her eyes on him. "Why a mask at this time of night?" She inquired, feigning wide-eyed innocence.

Scipio's lips twitched upwards into his almost always-visible smirk, the one that held so much mischief. He watched her emerge from the shadows, pointedly ignoring the question she had asked. Watching her eyes widen in innocence, he shook his head. "Why ask such pointless questions?" He retorted quickly.

"A pointless question is better than a contradicting one." Cadenza said, stepping closer towards him, "Don't you think?"

Scipio sighed and folded his arms by his chest stubbornly. His dark eyes travelled over her ruined clothing as he muttered, "Aren't you going to introduce yourself? And don't you have somewhere to be?"

Oh dear lord, he thought, I'm going soft. His thoughts were interrupted by a small laugh and the girl's reply, "First, I never introduce my self first, and second, frankly, I don't, but a boy like you must, so leave playing street kid to the actual orphans and runaways"

"Fine. Don't let me help you." Scipio replied, as he realized he had forgotten something, "And since you don't want to tell me who you are, I'll tell you who I am. I," He paused, trying to add a bit of suspense, "I am the Thief Lord."

"I don't need help!" Cadenza exclaimed, a hurt look coming across her pale, moonlight face, "And I don't need someone that calls himself the Thief Lord." She sneered.

Brushing aside the girls reaction he asked another question, "Do you have somewhere to go tonight? To sleep, I mean."

Cadenza walked towards the bridge rail, nimbly climbing on it, her arms outstretched for balance. She furrowed her brow as she walked slowly on it, before quickly whipping her head in his direction. "I. Don't. Take. Charity." She said, through gritted teeth.

Scipio looked at the watch strapped to his wrist. They expected him, and he didn't want to keep Bo up to late just to argue with this girl. "At least come meet my friends."

"Are these _friends_ anything like you?" She asked, jumping from the rail, landing quietly on her feet.

Scipio took a deep breath. This girl was starting to get on his nerves. "No. They aren't. Now are you coming or not?" He asked, his voice starting to sound irritated, "I don't want to keep Bo up. Prosper will kill me."

"Fine." Cadenza muttered, "As long as it makes you shut up."

Scipio's smile enlarged, as he took hold of her wrist, gently pulling her towards the old theatre with the broken neon sign that had once read Stella. Cadenza protested, "Let go of my wrist! I know how to walk!"

"Just follow me then." Scipio said, ducking into an alley.

As he led her to the back exit, he knocked loudly on the door. "See how much trouble you're causing me? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to wait."

"But you were the one that wanted me to come." Cadenza replied, as a short boy with spiked hair and bad teeth peeked out at them.

Scipio smiled evilly, pushing Cadenza away from the door. "Buona sera, Hedgehog. I've brought a guest." He informed, gesturing to Cadenza.

Riccio pulled the door open, allowing them in. Cadenza was surprised to see the mattresses on the floor, the moth eaten starry curtain, and the theatre chairs. It was like a giant, dollhouse type nursery. "Who is she?" Riccio inquired, as if Cadenza wasn't there.

"That's a good question, Riccio. She didn't answer me when I asked her,' Scipio drawled, before turning to Cadenza, "What's your name?"

Cadenza snapped back to the real world, replying "My name's Cadenza."

"Cadenza. Doesn't that mean rhythm? Anyways, Cadenza, this is Riccio, Riccio, this is Cadenza. Now Riccio, go tell the others I'm here." Scipio commanded in the bossy tone that some of them despised so much.

Riccio scrambled off, with a look of hero worship on his face. "Actually, Cadenza means rhythmic, genius." Cadenza muttered, as Riccio came back, followed by four other people, a girl, a dark boy, and a dark haired boy whose hand was intertwined with the hand of the youngest boy, an angel haired youth of about six years.

"Hey Scip!" The young boy greeted excitedly, running up to Scipio, "What did you bring us today?"

They hadn't quite registered the fact that Cadenza was there, so Scipio took advantage of that. He smirked at them, tossing a bag, and then he said, "I've also brought somebody. Her name is Cadenza."


	3. Chapter 3

Aurore; The book, it's not mine. I wish it were though. I wish a lot of things. 'Kay, you remember what I said 'bout Cadenza, right? Well, that didn't change. No stealing Cadenza. She's mine. ALL MINE. Always remember, if the Thief Lord were mine, I'd probably have better things to do than write fan fiction. Got it? Good. Okay, loves, I lost this chapter, due to a horrible computer, but then word recovered it. Lets all give Microsoft Word a nice hand. There we go. You guys are getting another update today because I was bored, I mean, I had French contradictions to do. Of course I was bored.

"Hi… Cad… Caden… Cadenssa… Cadenza!" Bo exclaimed, smiling sweetly when he finally pronounced her name right, "I'm Bo."

A smile crept slowly onto Cadenza pale face as her vivid green eyes trailed over them, before Scipio once again interrupted her thoughts. "Like I said, this is Cadenza, and she will be staying here."

The smile was quickly wiped off her face as she whirled around, facing Scipio angrily. "I already told you, I don't take charity, Thief Lord!" She spat, before heading to the exit.

Scipio stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. He gave Cadenza his trademark grin, "I can't let you leave. Now that you've seen the Star Palace, you reside at the Star Palace. It's a secret kept by their lives, you do know this?"

Cadenza, in her rage for being tricked, slapped his hand away from her. A few angry tears made their way down her milky cheek as she said; "You wouldn't dare hold me against my will."

"I don't hold them against their will, and I don't hold you here. I've just never met someone to pass up the Star Palace. And you won't either." He explained, the arrogant tone leaving his voice.

Cadenza choked back a laugh at the oddness of his words. They made no sense to her. "They keep this place a secret by their lives, yet, you say you aren't keeping them against their wishes?"

"Exactly." Scipio replied, steering her back to the others.

"Cadenza, this is Hornet, Mosco, Bo, Prosper, and you've already met Rocco." He introduced them, pointing at each in turn, "Prop, make sure you get a good deal, I'll be back tomorrow, to check up on things."

With that, he turned to leave, though; Cadenza wasn't about to leave it at that. "You've all got a lovely place here, I'll see you sometime…" She scurried toward the door.

"There's nothing stopping you. I was only trying to offer you food to eat, a place to sleep, somewhere to escape the cold, and friends. But if you want to leave, go ahead, I won't stop you." Scipio said, as he slipped out the door, into the unyielding darkness.

"Oh, please don't leave! It gets really boring with just boys." Hornet exclaimed as a delicate smile found it's way to her snarky mouth.

Cadenza looked around, they looked like a mismatched family. Prosper watching over Bo, Mosco attempting to fix a radio, Bo playing with a kitten, Hornet cleaning up and Riccio in his own little world. She sighed, slipping down on the floor next to Bo, "I'd love to stay, if it doesn't impose on your hospitality."

Hornet grinned, "It won't be the slightest bit of a problem."

"Thanks. Hey, Angelo, what do you call your kittens?" She asked boy, placing him on her lap.

She saw Prosper come sit down in front of them, "Don't worry, I'm not going to kidnap this little sweetie." She laughed, as Bo scrunched up his face in an effort to think up names for the kittens.

"Well, this one's Fortuna, because she's really lucky. Scip stopped someone from drowning them. And this one's… uhh… this one's…" Bo answered his small face furrowed in an effort to think of a name.

"Oh, cara, I was just wondering if they had names. Fortuna sounds like she's very lucky, she's got a good namesake. Maybe your brother can suggest a name for this kitty?" Cadenza grinned at Prosper, making a silent dare.

"Bianca. Because she's white." Prosper said simply, his face emotionless, "Come on, Bo, you look tired. Lets get you to bed." He held out his hand for Bo, who shook his head.

"I want to play with the kitties. And Cadenza!" Bo argued, glaring at Prosper.

Cadenza sighed, she didn't mean to come between them, "Bo, go with your brother, I'm going to help Hornet."

Bo smiled, taking Prosper's hand. Prosper lead him off, without a second glance. Cadenza stood up slowly, pulling her dark hair back into a ponytail holder. She turned to Hornet, as she began to help her tidy up. "You don't need to." Hornet said, without looking up.

"Yes I do. I need to, I just can't do nothing." Cadenza objected, taking the broom from her hands.

She headed off to a separate corner of the theatre; she began to hear snippets of a conversation between Prosper and Mosco, with the occasional inserted comment from Bo. "He's starting to bring in anyone now, isn't he?" Prosper said, sighing.

"I think she's very nice." Bo cut in, his tone of voice happy, "I think she wanted to play with me, Prop!"

"I don't see anything wrong with her, at the least, you will have someone to watch Bo for you." Mosco drawled, rolling his eyes.

"That's the thing…" Prosper trailed off, as he placed the blanket over Bo's small shoulders. "Go to sleep Bo."

Cadenza sighed, as she finished sweeping. She stared at the pile of dirt near her feet. She had offered to sweep, did that include picking up the mess? Of course it did. But for some reason, she just wanted to leave it their, for all to see. That was like her worries of Venice flooding over; it only really meant that she was afraid to get in over her head. With one last glare at the pile of dirt, dust and mouse droppings, she swept them into the small dustpan and dumped them into the dustbin in the corner.


	4. Chapter 4

Aurore; You guys are lucky I have a high sugar capacity. Or else this chapter would be randomosity central. Thanks to Media Class, none the less. YAY FOR SKITTLES. Did you know that if you drop a lime and a lemon skittle into that clear PowerAde, it makes the PowerAde taste really yummy? And plus, I've had a Red Bull today! RED BULL GIVES YOU WINGS. Oh yeah, to get the formalities out of the way, I own Cadenza, no one else. Cadenza is part of my over large, over active imagination. The same that made me believe that there was a rabid squirrel eating a corpse under my bed. It was horrific. –Cough- On with the important stuff, the story… Like you, my faithful, or not so faithful, how should I know, readers want, right? So lets stop the babbles. Okay, now we can start with the story. Oh yeah, any songs I may use in my writing aren't of my creation.

With the job done, Cadenza looked over the rest of them, most of them already settled into their makeshift beds. She quickly took her ponytail holder from her hair, running her fingers through the dark tresses. After a couple moments of consideration, had started to wind the long black locks into a thick braid. It'd be easier than trying to comb it later. With that, she sunk into the red moth eaten cinema chair, attempting to let sleep carry her off to the land of dreams.

Sleep had never come easy to her, but soon, the rhythmic breathing of the others lulled her into a troubled dreamless sleep. All to soon, it had felt like she had only just dozed off, as she was pried from the clutches of dreamland. "Cadenza, wake up."

Cadenza sat up, rubbing her eyes groggily. As she rubbed sleep out of her grass green eyes, she looked around. Prosper, Riccio, Mosco and Bo were assembled over near the stage, eating their small breakfasts. Hornet had been the one to wake her up.

"Do you want something to eat?" Hornet asked, not completely aware that Cadenza was still half asleep.

Cadenza didn't reply, however, she got up, moving towards the boys. Wondering why Prosper had been so eager to get Bo away from her last night, she merely smiled. She ran a hand through Bo's angel curls. "Good morning, Angelo. Good morning, Riccio. Good morning, Mosco. Good morning, Prosper. Good morning Hornet" She greeted quietly, and soon was replied with the same phrase. 'Good morning'.

Cadenza grinned at them, before turning away. She looked over her shoulder, saying, "I'll be back, in a couple hours."

Prosper furrowed his brow, why was this girl always calling Bo Angelo? Why was she so interested in Bo in the first place? He watched her silently pad out the back exit, painfully aware of her bare feet.

Meanwhile, Cadenza had untied her hair from the painful braid it had been tied in. She had never realised how good it felt to have the ends of her hair fluttering out by her waist. When she reached her destination, she sat on the ledge of the fountain, watching the tourists. Anyone who knew Cadenza well enough, would know that she tried not to steal. Sometimes it had been necessary for her to be able to eat, or when she couldn't bring in enough money by her singing.

Sometimes, there was the odd gem of a person who would hear her, and place a couple liras in her basket. But it had never been enough to live on. Cadenza sighed, as she placed the small, wicker basket at her feet, as she opened her mouth to begin singing.

Cadenza chose one of her favourite songs, and began clearly, hoping to be heard over the noise of the tourists and local's shuffling around.

"_Believe me if all these endearing young charms_

_That I gaze on so fondly today_

_Were to change by tomorrow and fade in my arms_

_Like fairy gifts fleeting away"_

Her voice must have carried farther than she had thought, because when she next looked at her basket, a few lira notes had already began to collect. A small pasted itself on her face as she continued the song, her voice cutting through the air. Sometimes one is born with a talent, and this girl had been born with a melodious voice. It was enchanting to here her singing these old, hardly ever heard songs, in her emotional way.

"_Thou would still be adored as this moment thou art_

_Let thy loveliness fade as it will_

_And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart _

_Would entwine itself verdantly still"_

The smile left her face as she was shooed away by some vender, who was angry with her for distracting his customers. To get back at him, she walked by his stand, grasping an apple from it. After she took a rather large bite, she looked at him with innocent eyes, "These apples are very delicious, signor. Grazie."

She let out an impish laugh as she headed off to another part of the San Marco Square, to set up again. She poked through her basket; it was a good haul for the short time she'd been at it. Maybe she'd restart the song to see what she could get. After awhile, she came to near the end of the song. She finished it with an impish smile on her rose petal pink lips.

"I_t is not while beauty and youth are thine own_

_And thy cheer unprofaned by a tear_

That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known 

_To which time will but make thee more dear_

_O the heart that hath truly loved never forgets_

_But as truly loves on to the close_

_As the sunflower turns on her God when he sets_

_The same look that she gave when he rose"_

When she finished, she stood up, and for her audience's sake, she swept and exaggerated bow, blowing kisses to random people as she skipped to the Stella. She wasn't taking her stay as charity, she was going to pay her way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Aurore: Peoples, it's me again. Yup. Me. Sooo… This might be the last update 'till after holidays, 'cause, ya know, I have to go visit my aunties house. No computer! Oh the horror! So. Like you should know by now, I didn't author the Thief Lord. I created the lovely Cadenza, but not the others. Oh oh oh. You want to hear something funny? If you don't just like skip ahead to the chapter. So, I was in Media class, today, and it was girl's class. Because on Wednesday we have all girls' media, Thursday is all boys and Friday is mixed, back to the point. So we had some Ads on the table. Each group of five had to chose one, and answer some questions about it. My friend, Marina was in my group, she just picks up any random ad. When we get to our table to read it and do the write up, we take a look. Brava's Breast Enhancement Plan Works without Pills, Creams, and Surgery. We burst out in laughter. Then when we presented, we read the ad out loud, and we got in so much trouble. But we got the last word in. Marina and I were all like "They must use it or they wouldn't be so angry about it." **

**So that's another day in my life. On with the chapter, this is probably going to be longer than usual. 'Cause I'm that nice. Oh yeah, I going to be using parts of Stuck for a Story from a book called Celtic Fairy Tales for Children as Retold by Philip Wilson.**

As Cadenza entered the Stella, she noticed that Prosper and Riccio were gone. "Where were you?" Hornet asked, her voice piercing into Cadenza's thoughts.

Cadenza turned to her, emptying her basket in Hornet's hands. "Oh, I've been out and about. By the way, you can consider me your official boarder."

Hornet's face betrayed her by showing her puzzlement; however, she dutifully dumped the sum into the money box that was hidden in the corner. While Hornet did so, Cadenza watched as Bo came over, Fortuna and Bianca in his small hands. "Hey, Angelo, where are Riccio and your brother?" She asked, watching him as he sat beside her.

He looked both ways, as if to make sure no one was listening. Putting a finger to his lips, he bent over, whispering, "Prop and Riccio went to go sell the Thief Lord's loot to the Red Beard, Barbarossa. They don't take me with them anymore."

As Bo resumed stroking his kittens, as Cadenza grinned. An idea popped into her head. Or rather, she remembered a story. "Angelo, do you want to hear a story?"

Bo nodded his head, as Bianca sprang from his lap with a single graceful jump. Cadenza paused for a moment before beginning.

"There was one a king of Leinster," She began, before being interrupted by Bo.

"Where's Leinster?"

Hornet had heard her begin, and giggled at Bo's question. "Well, Leinster is a kingdom, or it was a kingdom, very far away."

"How far away?" Bo asked.

"So far away it's not in Italy, it's across the Irish Sea. And a long walk after that."

"It sounds very far away. Can we keep on the story now?"

"Only if you stop interrupt Angelo." She replied, noticing Hornet and Mosca seated in chairs near them.

Mosca grinned sheepishly. "We don't get to hear stories often, only when Hornet reads aloud."

So Mosca enjoyed listening to stories. You learn something everyday. "'Kay, I'm going to start now. There was once a king of Leinster whose favorite pastime was listening to stories. Every evening, before the king went to sleep, he called his best storyteller to him, and the storyteller told him a story, a different one each night. And whatever problems or worries had troubled the king during the day, they were eased away by the skill of the storyteller, and the king always had a good night's sleep. In return, the king granted his storyteller a large estate with a big house and acres of land, for he thought the storyteller was one of the most important people in his kingdom."

As she began to weave the path of words, illustrating the story with her expressions, she noticed Riccio and Prosper walk in, watching them. A smile crept onto her face, the type of smile that lights up one's whole face. She continued, nearing the end of the table, she quieted, into an actors whisper, not that it was needed for this story. This was a happy story after all.

"But before he went, the beggar made the story-teller visible again, and gave him back his chariot, his horses, his hounds, -- and his wife. 'I had heard you were in difficulties,' he said to the story-teller. 'But now you have the story of your adventures to tell the king.' Sure enough, the king thought the new story was the best he had ever heard. From that day on, it was the tale the king always wanted to hear, and the story-teller never had to think up another story." She finished in a throaty whisper, her voice a bit quieter from the long tale.

Bo stood up a large smile on his face. "That was a really good story! The story teller must have had to make up lots of stories for the king, before he met the magician beggar, right?"

Cadenza nodded, "One every night. That's a lot."

Soon Prosper had whisked Bo away, and they were playing with some small toys when Cadenza breezed by. "What did you think of the story?" She asked coolly.

She wasn't going to let the fact that he didn't talk much to her get in her way. If she could help it, she was going to have a decent conversation with him. "I never heard the story before. It was interesting." Prosper replied, standing up.

Cadenza smiled, "You know, I'm not trying to take Bo from you. You're very good with him."

Prosper smiled, and odd sight for Cadenza, who had never seen him smile, other than when he was with Bo. "I know, but Bo needs more than a big brother, it's a little hard to try to teach him right from wrong when we steal to live."

"And that's why you leave him here."

"He doesn't listen to me anymore. Wait, why am I telling this to you?" Prosper asked suddenly.

Cadenza heaved a delicate sigh, "Because you can't keep your emotions bottled in for so long. You need to talk to someone, and obviously that someone isn't me."


End file.
